20th Anniversary of September 11th
Our industry was forever changed on September 11th, 2001 when thousands of lives, including those of our colleagues were taken in multiple coordinated terrorist attacks. The flight crews and passengers of American Flight 11, American Flight 77, United Flight 93 and United Flight 175 will never be forgotten in our collective memory. That was a day when North American airspace came to a total standstill and we all entered an everlasting moment of grief and vows to never forget.
Today is a day to reflect and recall that our chosen industry brings much joy into our lives and those who fly with us but it also comes with unpredictable risks. The pilots who perished that day did not go to work expecting those events to unfold but once those wheels were put into motion they upheld our professional pilot ethics and did everything they could to protect lives. Tragically the cards were ultimately stacked against them. Ernest K. Gann will forever be prescient for naming his novel “Fate is the Hunter”, for anyone who has worked in aviation for any length of time has come to understand how true those words are.
Many of our pilots were working on that fateful day in September, some are retired now, some were only starting their aviation careers, while others were still too young to even contemplate a career path, and sadly some have also flown west. Yet, this moment in our world history struck a chord for us all. It forever changed the way in which we perform the duties of our profession. Pilots across the world had to come to grips with a new aviation reality. We find ourselves in a very similar circumstance today. Our industry has been shaken to its core once again and pilots across the world are all trying to navigate these new realities that have been thrust upon us. What brings us all together from September 11th, 2001 through to today, from the younger generation to the not so young generation, from all of our cultural backgrounds, is our love of flying. We truly do have a passion for aviation - it is a bond that few understand and it creates a special camaraderie. We all enjoy the vast freedom and experiences aviation brings into our lives. This fact will always bring us together and drive us toward shared visions and goals.
Our shared purpose of flying professionally unites us through all of life’s fateful twists and turns. To allow the issues of today’s complex world to divide us further tarnishes the memory of all of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. It is in these times of reflective sorrow that we must remember we all have much more in common than what divides us.